The Tales of the Stone Coast Line
by SpeaksInHands
Summary: On a small Coast, there was a small branch line. On this three and a quarter mile branch line, there was a small engine. It has four small wheels, a short, stumpy funnel, a short, stumpy boiler, a short, stumpy dome, and an emerald green livery. These are his adventures.
1. Chapter 1: Pluto and his Jobs

**This is the first time I have attempted a story like this, so if you guys have any ideas or constructive criticism, please message me about that.**

This is a story of a branch line. A small branch line, at that. This branch line runs from the Charles Coast to the Main Line, only three and a quarter miles away. On this branch line, there was a small engine. It has four small wheels, a short, stumpy funnel, a short, stumpy boiler, a short, stumpy dome, and had an emerald green livery. This engine's name was Pluto. Every day Pluto would chuff down to the station and take a small passenger train to Grobsworth station. There, a bigger engine would take the passengers and they would chuff away to the Mainland. Pluto would repeat this every day, all year, and nothing exciting would ever really happen.

Until one day. . .

The Beeching Axe swung down violently, cutting off other branch lines, and only left two branches left. Luckily, the Stone Coast Line (Pluto's Branch) was left. It was hard times. Pluto's driver, Dan Webster, came to speak to Pluto. "Pluto," he said. "It appears we'll have to work harder from now on, if we want our line to stay open." Pluto was an engine of little words and short sentences, but he understood, knowing this was his one chance, and replied with "Okay.". They headed down to the yard (which was more of a siding) and picked up three salt wagons and a passenger car, then headed to the station to pick up passengers. Pluto had never worked so hard at once. This pattern continued, again and again. "It'll be alright, Pluto, we can make it through this." Dan said. Pluto hoped they could.

Later, Dan was called to Mr. Snyder's (The Branch Line's Owner) office. "Please come in, Mr. Webster." Mr. Snyder said. Dan took a seat in front of Mr. Snyder. "As you know, we have to make Pluto do more work." "Yes, sir." Dan replied, nervously. "So I've come up with a plan. We will be needing a new engine. A strong one, but reliable. So, I want you to talk with your co-workers and use the spare parts to create an engine that will also work here. If it succeeds, I will give you and your co-workers a raise, understood?" "Yes, sir." Dan said, relieved that Pluto wasn't being replaced.

Dan told his co-workers. Then they told Pluto. And Pluto told the coaches, who told the wagons, and so forth. Then, all the workers met up at Dan's house. "It has to be diesel!" One worker shouted. "No, it should be steam!" Another shouted. Dan tried to solve the conflict by saying they should build a Steam-Diesel hybrid. "Hah," they both said. "That would be too stupid. It'd have HIS idea in it." they said as they pointed to each other. Mr. Richards (The Mechanic) stepped in, and said it was a good idea. After a couple games of rock-paper-scissors, it was decided to be a Steam-Diesel.

Then they started to work on the engine.


	2. Chapter 2: The New Engine

The next day, Mr. Richards, and the rest of the workers showed up to the yard (Still just a siding) and started to work on the new steam-diesel hybrid. They had started on the chassis, which was currently just four wheels and two axles. Dan pulled up in his Morris Minor 1000 pick up truck with some scrap metal he found nearby. Mr. Richards went over to the truck and started talking. "Hey, thanks for getting this over here. Would've taken at least an hour to bring it over by hand." He stated. "Hey, it's no problem." Dan replied.

Mr. Richards walked to the bed of the truck and helped pull out the scrap metal. As he pulled out one of the pieces, something caught his eye. It was a vertical boiler, used on Coffee Pot engines. Dan noticed him staring at it. "Oh, yeah, I thought we could use that today. We don't have to, but otherwise I would just keep it in the shed." Mr. Richards stared at it a little longer, and then pulled it out. "Well, I'm sure we'll find a way to incorporate it somehow." He said, smiling.

Work on the engine was going good. The chassis and the cab were already built, and Lance, the fireman, along with a few others, pulled out the engine and put it near the tracks. Mr. Richards was still trying to figure out how to incorporate the vertical boiler. The noise of the welding and power drills interrupted his train of thought on the train numerous times. Lance came over to speak with him. "So we've got the engine ready, we just need to find a place to store it in the locomotive. Any ideas?" He said, instantly. Mr. Richards thought about it. "Why not the front? We can replace the diesel part, no problem. The steam part we can't as easily."

So they placed it in the front. Due to the engine being oddly shaped and the amount of metal left, the front was angled, just enough to put the engine in. After all the wiring, there was still a big hole in the center of the locomotive. Mr. Richards looked at it and suddenly realized that they could fit the vertical boiler in snugly. After telling everyone what they were going to do, they put in the vertical boiler, and as Mr. Richards thought, it fit perfectly. The pistons were added, and they decided to put them tilted upwards, as a tip of the hat to the Fowler 0-10-0 Big Bertha.

Dan coupled the locomotive to a coach. "Turn it on, Lance!" Mr. Richards shouted. "Yes, sir." Lance replied. Lance leaned back into the cab, and with a loud shriek and a hiss, it started to move forward. Everyone watched nervously. It soon picked up speed. It then barreled down to the station, and slowed to a stop. By now, everyone was cheering and giving high fives to each other. Mr. Snyder soon stepped out of his office to see what the commotion was about.

Mr. Snyder walked around the locomotive. He was inspecting every inch of it. He opened the hatch to the engine, and then looked at the vertical boiler. He seemed impressed. He then turned to everyone, looking very cross. Everyone was nervous, waiting for him to say 'Take it down and destroy it.'. He opened his mouth and said: "Does it have a name yet?". Everyone shook their head no. "Well, a proper engine has to have a name, you know." He said with a smile. Everyone started to relax.

Mr. Snyder looked at them. "If you do not have a name for it yet, I think I have the perfect name." Dan said that it'd be fine if he named it. Mr. Snyder looked at it and then spoke. "I now name this engine Archimedes, after the Greek inventor." Everyone seemed to like the name, and as if by magic, Archimedes whistled. "Have a good day, everyone." he said, and walked back into his office. Everyone started whooping and hollering with cheer. Archimedes was taken into a siding for another inspection, and everyone went out for a drink.

Later that night, Pluto was taken to his shed. Archimedes was in the siding next to it. Pluto looked at him. "Oh, hello." he said. Archimedes, now awake, looked from side to side, frantically. "Who's there?" he said. Pluto chuckled. "My name's Pluto, and who are you?" Archimedes, never meeting an engine before, was surprised. "My name's Archimedes, and I'm a steam and diesel engine. I can run on either steam or my engine, and even both at the same time!" he said, excitedly.

"Well, welcome to the Stone Coast Branch Line." Pluto said.


	3. Chapter 3: Money Troubles

**This one's a little short, but I think this one is pretty crucial for the story.**

Mr. Snyder looked out the window in his office. He sighed, walked around a bit, then looked again out the window. He was nearly bankrupt. Pluto was an engine that needed lots of money to take care of, being the only one in his class. Archimedes was another problem entirely. He took a seat and got out his typewriter. He wrote:

 **Dear Ebbsworth Bank,**

 **It has come to my attention that I am in need to money. I am**

He stopped there. _Too direct._ He thought. He paced around the room a couple more times. There was a knock at the door. "Come in." He said. It was Dan. "I don't know if you know this, sir, but more people are using the railway, just to see Archimedes!" Dan said. Mr. Snyder nodded, and then coughed. He liked that he was gaining money from the customers, but he knew it wasn't enough to pay for both Pluto and Archimedes. Dan noticed Mr. Snyder was pacing around more than usual.

"Everything alright, sir?" Dan said. _How can I be alright,_ He Thought. _If I'm almost bankrupt, have no children interested in running the line, and I have little time left on this Earth?_ "Everything's fine, Mr. Webster." He spoke. Dan said that he wished him a nice day, and he stepped out. Mr. Snyder paced around his office again, looked out the window, and then paced around the room again. He repeated this several times. Finally, he walked over to his safe and entered the combination _6F4A95_. There was only three hundred euros left. He walked back to his chair and sat down. He sighed and stood back up. _Where can I find a_ _replacement?_ He thought.

It was now seven in the afternoon. The sun was setting, and Pluto and Archimedes were just about to go to sleep. Mr. Snyder paced his room once more. _What are you going to do, Frederick?_ He thought. He walked out his office door, locked it, and walked over to Dan. "Have a good night, Mr. Webster." he said. He said goodnight to everyone, even the coaches. He walked up the gravel path to his house. He got into his pyjamas and sat on his bed for a while.

 _What are you going to do?_ He thought.


	4. Chapter 4: Goods Train

**Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while. I was pretty busy with personal stuff going on.  
**

"Morning, Pluto!" Lance, his fireman, said. Pluto yawned and said hello. "We've got a goods run today. We're taking a train of fish down to Ebbsworth."

Now, Pluto loved his jobs and was happy to do them, but he was a bit frustrated when he heard this. Lately, Archimedes was the one who took passenger trains, and Pluto was just left with taking goods trains. Pluto found this very annoying. He wanted to say hello to the passengers as they boarded on the train. He wanted to talk to the Big Engines at the station. He wanted to hear their stories of faraway cities.

But Pluto didn't complain. He had a job to do and he was going to do it. At least, until he noticed Dan started driving Archimedes more. Archimedes was nice, but there was something that aggravated Pluto. His popularity. Everyone wanted to see Archimedes. Everyone wanted a picture. Did anyone want a picture with the old steam engine? No. "Outdated" was the term for himself, Pluto thought. He took his vans from the yard (Yes, still a siding) and was off. Birds flew by and boats sailed. He went onto the mainline.

He continued his way down the line. Passing another goods train, he felt good that he wasn't the only one used for that. Then an express came by. Whizzing past at the front was not a steam engine, but of course, a diesel. Pluto had nothing against diesels. He knew he was old and not everyone likes steam. But he thought the people at Charles Coast were different. He thought that they liked steam more. Maybe they did. But Archimedes, steam or diesel, was more popular.

Pluto stopped at a signal. The other goods train passed by. He started again. Ebbsworth wasn't too far from there. He continued down the line, still in thought. Then the worst thing came to his mind. _Scrap._ The word made him shudder at the thought of it. Surely it wouldn't happen to him. The line was small and was the life of the Charles Coast. He knew he couldn't be scrapped. He was needed. So was Archimedes. Charles Coast would barely run without them.

Before he knew it, he was at an unloading station. Men carried crates of fish from the vans into a room. Pluto looked around. Nothing but workmen. Pluto was off again to head back to the Charles Coast. He again thought about what would happen to him and Archimedes if the line was shutdown. Pluto was sure to be sent to some factory, and Archimedes would go to some sort of other line.

Lance asked Pluto if he was feeling alright.

Pluto said nothing.

 **Sorry if it seemed a little short. I really haven't felt motivated for a while.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Shutdown

"In the recent years passing I have found myself asking the question that all controllers have asked themselves. 'Will my line be shut down?'. Unfortunately, today, we have taken the time to tell each of you citizens of Charles Coast that our dear old line will be shut down, and that today will be the last train. Thank you for coming, and I'm sorry." Mr. Snyder finished his speech.

Yes, it was happening. The line was to be shutdown. Nothing else was to be said.

Pluto looked over into the sea. "If only it weren't true," he said. "that our line is to be shutdown and we are to be sent away. I'm sure to be scrap, and Archimedes will be working as a generator if he's lucky." Archimedes puffed up. He looked like he was in tremendous pain. "Three months." he said. "Three months after being built and I'm being sent away to Barry Island Scrapyard." Archimedes sighed. Pluto looked over in alarm. "You're being sent for scrap?"

"No, I'm going to be a shunter there for the engines. Driver says it's for the best. After this last train is pulled, I'm headed down to Ebbsworth docks to be put on a boat to Barry Island." Pluto sighed, relieved, but still worried. What was going to happen to him? Will he be stuck in a shed forever until someone accidentally finds a way in, or will Archimedes be shunting him into the line for scrap? He didn't like either option, and was afraid to ask Mr. Snyder.

It was hours after the last train that Pluto asked Mr. Snyder. "S-sir, what will happen to me once the line is shut down?" Mr. Snyder looked over. "I'm not sure, Pluto. I'm just as scared as you are. Lance was talking about selling you to another line, and Dan even suggested sending you to a Museum. It's your choice, Pluto. I'm sure it'll work out for you, either way."

Pluto hoped so.

The next morning, men came to inspect Pluto. They looked at every screw and mark. They then turned to Mr. Snyder. He nodded, and he turned to Pluto. "Well," he said. "it looks like you have been bought by the museum. I hope you are happy there, and that will meet new friends while there." Mr. Snyder walked away, head hanging low, looking as if he lost everything. Little did Pluto know, that with the line shutting down, he really had.


End file.
